Graphics software giant Adobe on Wednesday spoke at the annual NAB show in Las Vegas to reveal new versions of the video editing apps in its Creative Cloud suite, including significant upgrades for Premiere Pro and After Effects, making them part of a more cohesive, tightly integrated suite of products.

Premiere Pro CC is set to gain a slew of new features and tweaks, including the ability to edit After Effects compositions without switching applications, a change designed to speed up editing. Editors will also be able to take advantage of a new dynamic masking and tracking function to make blurring faces and logos easier.

In addition, the new version will leverage Creative Cloud more heavily, providing facilities for automated backups and real-time synchronization between applications and teams using Adobe Anywhere.

After Effects CC's keying features will also be enhanced to provide better keying results when video has been compressed, and Adobe has integrated its Typekit typography-as-a-service offering. This will allow After Effects users to choose any Typekit-enabled typeface for use on the desktop.

"Broadcasters, filmmakers, corporate publishers and video professionals today are expected to relentlessly keep up with new formats, frame rates and distribution methods," said Adobe product executive Steve Warner. "Customers who have switched to Adobe Creative Cloud from alternative offerings tell us that Adobe apps and solutions give them a significant advantage. And with hundreds of new features and enhancements added with regular releases over the past 12 months, we continue to raise the bar with faster workflows for video pros."

Several supporting apps will also receive updates, including Story CC, Audition CC, Prelude CC, and SpeedGrade. Most of the changes revolve around enabling faster editing workflows, though SpeedGrade — software that helps editors with color correction — will also add support for OpenCL on the Mac Pro.

Adobe has been focusing extra attention on its video editing suite in recent years in an attempt to win back customers who had previously switched to Apple's Final Cut Studio. Many of those same customers were angered by the changes Apple made to Final Cut Pro X, and the two companies have been battling for hearts and minds in the years since its release.

Premiere Pro and After Effects are available part of Adobe's Creative Cloud, a subscription product that gives access to Adobe's entire software lineup for $49.99 per month. Discounts are available for educators and students, who start at $19.99 per month, while those upgrading from older "boxed" versions of Creative Suite can pay just $29.99 per month for the first year.

Users signing up now will be able to upgrade for free when the new versions of Premiere and After Effects ship "in the next couple of months."

While I am not a fan of the subscription I do like that we don't have to wait 8 to 12 months to get upgrades. The criticisms of the subscription service may be pushing Adobe to innovate and the list of improvements, integration and new features that Steve Forde has broken out in his blog are exciting.

While I am not a fan of the subscription I do like that we don't have to wait 8 to 12 months to get upgrades. The criticisms of the subscription service may be pushing Adobe to innovate and the list of improvements, integration and new features that Steve Forde has broken out in his blog are exciting.

Exactly. Without the need to sell users on a new version of the software every year, Adobe can push out more frequent updates, rather than stockpiling them for one big update.

I only use a limited number of their apps, so I wish they had some more flexible subscription options, but overall I think it was a move they needed to make.

Seriously, fk Adobe! They are arrogant to the Nth degree and make ridiculously bloated and complicated user interfaces, and refuse to adhere to Apples interface standards. They have no concept of ease-of-use and are stealing from their users with the subscription only model.

Still hate their rent-an-app offerings. Let me know when you go back to selling the software, Adobe.

I can understand why this business model might be annoying for some people. Adobe CC just quit being tailored to pros and amateurs. The software is now strictly for professionals. Unfortunately it doesn't work out for people who want to buy a smaller suite and keep it for several years, but it does offer new entrepreneurs the ability to scale up and down according to their project needs without a heavy cash outlay or purchased licenses lying around unused when there is less work. It is professional software.

The monthly payment model is becoming quite commonplace for expense professional software.

Seriously, fk Adobe! They are arrogant to the Nth degree and make ridiculously bloated and complicated user interfaces, and refuse to adhere to Apples interface standards. They have no concept of ease-of-use and are stealing from their users with the subscription only model.

Its an easy thing to say, but if you work in video production, publishing, web design, etc.... Adobe's products (for good or ill) hold the same preeminent position as Microsofts Office Suite.

I think them moving to the subscription model will ultimately open up a window for some competitor to scoop up users who can't or won't move onto Creative Cloud. Guys like Acorn or Pixelmator should be moving as fast as they can right now to build out their applications as viable lower to mid-tier alternatives to Photoshop.

I don't see how a subscription model enables these guys to update the software more frequently, we get updated software with Apple's apps almost every month and for buying it once and getting lifetime of updates.

Yes sure Apple is a hardware company designing software for its' hardware and hence they can get away with such a software update model.

Exactly. Without the need to sell users on a new version of the software every year, Adobe can push out more frequent updates, rather than stockpiling them for one big update.

I only use a limited number of their apps, so I wish they had some more flexible subscription options, but overall I think it was a move they needed to make.

This update is a perfect example of why it is better. They are only updating the video apps. With the old model they would release a new suite with only a few bug fixes to some apps and major new features to others but they were all bundled together. Now the apps can be updated when necessary or as soon as they are ready.